“You knew there was a firearm going to be produced and that it was a replica gun. It must have been simply terrifying.”

Describing one of the robberies, Jason Pegg, prosecuting, said two men had lain in wait for the taxi, adding: “Both men started shouting: ‘Give us your money, give us your phone.’ The driver was punched and the passenger pulled out a Beretta-style handgun and pointed it at his face.”